A/HRC/12/26 page 5 5. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the International Labour Organization, the International Maritime Organization, the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking for the information and assistance they provided on the issue of ship dismantling. II. UPDATE ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR A. Country missions 6. The Special Rapporteur carried out country visits to Côte d’Ivoire (4-8 August 2008) and to the Netherlands (26-28 November 2008) at the invitation of the respective Governments. The objective of the two missions was to assess the human rights impact of the Probo Koala incident, in which the Probo Koala, a ship flying the Panamanian flag chartered by a Dutch transnational corporation, Trafigura, allegedly disposed of 500 tonnes of toxic wastes in Abidjan. According to official estimates, 15 persons died, 69 persons were hospitalized and more than 108,000 sought medical consultations following exposure to such wastes. 7. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Special Rapporteur was forced to postpone his visits to India and Kyrgyzstan, scheduled for September 2008 and March 2009, respectively. He is looking forward to visiting these countries before the end of the next reporting period. Pursuant to paragraph 6 of resolution 9/1, the Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate his call on Governments which have not yet responded positively to his request for country missions to extend him an invitation. B. Statements and interventions 8. The Special Rapporteur conveyed a statement to the Second Session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM2), held in Geneva from 11 to 15 May 2009. In his statement, he recalled his previous involvement in the process that led to the development of a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). The Special Rapporteur noted with satisfaction that the outcome documents outlining the SAICM, and in particular the Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management and the Overarching Policy Strategy, expressly recognized the important contribution of sound management of chemicals to the promotion and protection of human rights, and called for a rights-based approach to international chemicals management. A human rights-based approach should expressly recognize the responsibilities of all actors involved in chemicals management to protect and promote human rights, and ensure the participation of all stakeholders in the design, implementation and monitoring of chemicals management strategies and policies affecting them. III. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SHIPBREAKING ON THE ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS A. The shipbreaking industry 9. Shipbreaking, also referred to as ship dismantling or ship recycling, is a type of ship disposal involving the dismantling of an obsolete vessel’s structure for scrapping or disposal. Conducted at a pier, a dry dock, a dismantling slip or a beach, it includes a wide range of activities, from removing all gears and equipment to cutting down the ship’s infrastructure.